


The Realm

by lonelyxxmaple_tree



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Dystopia, Government, Government Agencies, I'm Bad At Tagging, Kidnapping, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Original Character(s), Original Universe, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Tags May Change, Violence, Virus, but not super descriptive, idk - Freeform, is it kidnapping if its from the goverment, the happy men, the realm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:28:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29245089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonelyxxmaple_tree/pseuds/lonelyxxmaple_tree
Summary: Everything is controlled by The Realm. They control what people eat, where they work, how they act, and everything else in a person's day to day life. They expect complete submission and if you don't give it to them, you won't like the consequences. Even so, there are people who are trying to go against the realm. Some know each other, some don't. However, they all have one rule in common. Don't let The Realm find you.Please note:Every image, every author's note. They each have a very important meaning. Do not take our 'jokes' lightly. Also please don't post this to another website.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 1





	1. Margaret.

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter one!  
> Allow the story to commence..

In the city of Fairenfew on Tuesday the 31st of March, a special meeting is taking place. This meeting is happening at the end of main street in a place called Café Lumiere. Café Lumiere is a small restaurant that mostly serves sandwiches. At 9 pm on the foggy night, a woman is sitting in one of the small, red booths waiting for someone. She's been waiting for about two hours now. She came early so she wouldn't keep the realm waiting, things would not turn out well for her if she did. The meeting had been scheduled two days before, and she didn't know what to expect.

~~~~~~~~

She had woken up in the early hours of Sunday morning to the sound of her phone buzzing. Kelly was sitting across the room on her bed giving the phone a hard glare.  
"Who is it?" Kelly whispered, not taking her eyes off the phone. "Margaret." She paused. "If you don't look at who's messaging you, I will." Margaret gave her a small smile and picked up the phone. She gave Kelly one last look before she checked the message. She looked like she had just woken up. Her dark, curly hair hadn't even been brushed out yet. The tangles that had accumulated in her hair overnight made it look even shorter than it already was. She was wearing a navy sweater and shorts, both profusely ripped, and had her legs stretched out in front of her. She always looked almost happy this early in the morning, before the stress and pain of their everyday lives took over.  
Margaret finally unlocked the phone and looked at the message. The fact that she was getting a message was already very disconcerting. No one ever messaged her after she left. She figured her family had assumed she was dead and had moved on with their lives. That's why she felt her stomach drop when she saw the name on the screen. Bartholomew.  
Hello Margaret.  
The message read. For a second she wanted to believe it was him, but she quickly remembered what that meant if it was. She also remembered what it meant if it wasn't. She didn't have the time to decide which situation would be worse before another message popped up.  
We would like to schedule a meeting with you.  
She knew what that 'we' meant. It meant the realm had caught him. It meant that the realm knew what they were doing, and was going to use his safety as bait to try to get her. She knew they could kill him if she didn't come, and they knew that. She stared at the screen as she thought. If she went to this meeting, she risked getting captured, and in turn, risked giving up the location of their camp. However, if she didn't go, she risked the safety of her husband and possibly her children. Kelly crossed the room to sit on the bed next to Margaret.  
Margaret handed her the phone. Kelly looked at it for a few minutes before looking up at her again. Margaret glanced at the screen to see another text had come in.  
Tuesday, Café Lumiere, 9:15 PM.  
"Are you going?" Kelly asked, her brow slightly furrowed the way it did when she was worried.  
"I think I should, I can't risk them hurting him." Kelly nodded.  
"They're going to capture you." Margaret turned off the phone and turned to face Kelly.  
"Not unless we come up with a plan." Kelly smirked and got up.  
"Guess I'll go have to figure one out then." She strode out of the room leaving Margaret to get dressed. Margaret wondered what type of plan Kelly would come up with. Kelly's plans were always unpredictable. She put on some random clothing that happened to be at the top of her bag and quickly put her hair into a ponytail. She went over to Kelly's side of the room and grabbed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, disregarding the fact that Kelly would murder her for it later. She lit one and left the room. 

~~~~~~~~

She glanced at the clock hanging above the door. 9:10. She looked again at the rest of the restaurant which she had become accustomed to over the last two hours. Most of the wall at the back of the restaurant had been taken out so you could see into the kitchen. There was a counter so that people couldn't walk into the kitchen. Orders were also placed on that counter. She took her attention away from that side of the restaurant to look at the rest of it. The walls were painted a dull yellow and the restaurant wasn't that well lit. The walls were lined with faded paintings of fruit. The tables were metal with white tablecloths. It was empty now, except for her and the waiters and waitresses cleaning up. She was startled when the door opened and a man wearing all gray came in. She looked up. 9:15 on the dot. The man turned to face her, then trekked over and sat across from her. His eyes had a glassy look to them and he looked like he wasn't fully there. He was a realm member.  
"Hello, Margaret." He sounded almost friendly, but his face had no emotion. Like he was greeting a rock instead of a human being. "We're very glad you decided to meet with us."  
"Why did you want to meet me here?" She struggled to keep her voice calm.  
"We have evidence that suggests you know some things that could be useful." He gave her a small smile that didn't quite meet his eyes.  
"So you kidnapped my husband?"  
"You wouldn't have come if we didn't."  
"Where is he?" Margaret demanded. She knew she wouldn't get a straight answer, but she hoped she got something that could lead her in the right direction. "He is in one of our prisons." The member said flatly. Margaret nodded and waited for him to continue, he didn't. Instead, he got up. She noticed a walky-talky attached to his belt. "Come with me." He said as he walked out of the café. Margaret followed him across the street. He stopped a few meters ahead of her to the sound of shuffling in the darkness. Margaret jumped when a loud bang filled the air and the realm member crumbled to the ground.


	2. Rylie

The sound of fluorescent buzzing lights, the feeling of cool, hard rock against my body as the world spun around inside my head. These were the first things I noticed. I heard a loud groan, and it took me a moment to realize that it was me who had made that sound. My brain was fuzzy, and as I opened my eyes, all the pain came rushing back over me in a tidal wave.   
“grh, god... damnit.”  
I rubbed my eyes and squinted, the white blinding light stinging my half-asleep brain. Where the hell was I?   
Looking around in a daze, I could make out cracks on the greyed walls, centipedes and other small insects crawling around within these crevices. The floor, as I had suspected, was concrete, not the best pillow for my pounding headache. I balled my fists and attempted to crawl forward, despite the aching pain in my legs, and felt myself yanked backwards.   
Letting out a loud yelp, I closed my eyes and grit my teeth, turning around as best I could, only to see heavy metal chains wrapped around my arms, preventing me from moving.  
“Are you kidding me-“  
Suddenly, everything came back to me at once.

———-

It was a foggy night, not unlike many other nights in Fairenfew. Twelve in the morning wasn’t exactly the best time to go to a diner, but Rylie wasn’t there for grey pancakes or protein smoothies, he was on a mission.  
Earlier in the day he had received a random letter in the mail, which was strange, the Realm’s puppets never sent mail, and it’s not like they could read very well anyways. He made sure that his younger sister was asleep, before opening it carefully, out of sight from any windows or cameras They might have pinned on him, especially after what happened with his older sister..  
He brushed a strange of unruly hair out of his face, when was the last time he even bothered to brush it? And began to read the letter.

Dear Rylie,

I do hope this letter found you in good health, and you’re safe. I have some vital information regarding your sister, Kelly, if you’d like to accompany me on Tuesday, March 31st. I will arrive at twelve am sharp, be there. 

Rylie rubbed his eyes, rereading the letter over multiple times. It wasn’t signed, but somehow, whoever had written it knew about his sister. She had gone missing over a year ago, leaving Rylie and Nyla alone to fend for themselves. He bit his lip, looking around the dark kitchen, then sighed.   
It could very well be a trap, a plot organized by the Realm to draw him out of hiding, but... he had to try, if it meant finding out where Kelly was. 

Now, sitting in the empty diner, underneath the awfully bright lights, he drummed his fingers against the cool table, growing increasingly impatient as minutes began to pass by. After thirty minutes, Rylie reread the letter, trying to figure out if he had read the time wrong. He was so preoccupied that he failed to notice the towering figure open the diner’s back door, dressed in a black hoodie, face concealed by the shadows.

“Well, this was a great waste of time.”

Rylie said to nobody in particular, huffing angrily as he pushed back from the table and stood up. Upon turning around, he muffled a shriek as the figure loomed above him, reaching out to grab both of his wrists tightly. The smaller male of twenty had never taken a physical education class in his life, and was skinnier than the swimsuit models he read about in contraband magazines, so he struggled to kick the figure in the ribs as he was forced down onto the table.

“What the hell!! Let me go!!”

Rylie cried out, struggling against his attacker as the table beneath him began to crack underneath the pressure. The figure used one hand to pull something out of his pocket, forcefully slamming the other’s head against the table, emitting a loud *crack* as the boy went limp in his arms. The last thing Rylie could remember was the smallest trace of a smile on the figure’s face, as he pulled out a card of a yellow cartoon smiley face that read “Smile Men; We’re here to help you”..


	3. Mark

I open my eyes to darkness. I look around the room to try to distinguish whether or not it's morning or night, but the one clock in my room stopped working months ago. A cold draft hitting me is what convinces me to get up. The window on the wall opposite of my bed is wide open and cool air is seeping into the room. I keep the window open every night because it feels stuffy in my small apartment without a draft, especially at night. I always regret opening the window at night in the morning though, especially when it takes me hours wrapped in my fluffiest blanket to stop the shivering. I wrap myself in said blanket while I trudge into the kitchen to make myself some mac and cheese for breakfast.

\--------------------------------

I slip my mask into my bag as I leave. It's only eight am so I side track to a small grocery store about two blocks from my house. The food there is less bland than other places plus I always get my food free since I'm a Realm employee. Most places don't charge anything for Realm employees anymore since there aren't many of us. It's also in their best interest to get on our good sides, since one day we could be the ones to decide their fate. I slowly walk through the aisles of the store while I fidget with the end of my mask. My eyes settle on the pre prepared sandwiches a few feet in front of me. After sifting through them for about a minute, I decide that the one type I've been finding is indeed the only one they have. A loud bang pulls me out of my thoughts, and I rush to the front of the store after grabbing my sandwich. The cashier is getting arrested by a man wearing the uniform I know all too well. 

A black hoodie sewn with cotton white thread, accompanied by murky gray chinos and dress shoes.   
The same uniform sitting in my bag. After the cashier has stopped fighting, the man turns to face me. His newly painted mask glints when it catches the light and I can't help but look at the yellow card pinned to his chest. He's new to this, I can tell because of the card. You're required to wear the card on your chest for your first year of work. That's because people are less likely to put up a fight knowing you're a member of the happy men, so it's easier for the ones who are less experienced. The mask is mandatory for anyone who's worked as a happy man for less than ten years, but very few have managed to achieve that status. The ones who work that long are seen as sick even among the happy men, because you have to truly enjoy it to make it that far. I plan to.

The cashier starts struggling again and he almost loses his grip. I can't help but laugh.   
"First day?" I tease. He freezes. I guess he was expecting that no one would talk to him while wearing the uniform. He expected wrong. She starts writhing. He shoves her into a display case nearby, sending everything on it flying. Over the sound of her collision I hear the unmistakable sound of a bone crack. She's not getting up anytime soon. I have my ID pulled out before he turns to me again, probably with the intentions of sending me to the floor alongside the cashier. He glances at it.

"Oh," He mutters.  
"Mhm, next time don't freeze up when someone talks to you. We can't have any weaknesses, now can we?" I say in the flattest tone I can manage. I've worked for the Realm for seven years now, as it clearly states on my ID which makes me six years more experienced than him at least. He slowly nods as I leave the shop.

I'm technically a member of the happy men, but I don't do the traditional work they tend to do. Most members tend to arrest citizens who've offended the realm, or have important information. I did that up until last year. Now I do interrogations. I'm given a specific person to interrogate until I've decided they have no more information to give, then I move on. I don't mind the change in work all that much, I don't really care what I do as long as they're paying me. I'm better at this anyways. I step up to the curb to catch The Realm Bus. The Realm Bus is a bus specifically meant for taking Realm employees to work. I always get on at this spot, it takes me about half an hour to get to the prison. I sit at the front of the bus with my duffel bag resting on my lap, preparing for half an hour of pure boredom that I somehow manage to put up with everyday.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The secretaries give me tight lipped smiles as I walk in. Most of the employees I've become acquainted to treat me like a ticking time bomb. They aren't completely unjust for doing that though, I do have a tendency to explode, and that's what bombs do. I smile back at them and head straight for the staff bathrooms to change. I examine my mask before I put it on. It has a happy expression, but is slightly off in every way. The smile is a bit too big, making it look forced. The eyes a bit too wide. The eyebrows are drawn close to the eye, making the whole expression look malicious. I can see why this mask strikes fear in the hearts of so many. The mouth and eyebrows are painted black with the eyes cut out. The part of the mask meant to be skin is painted white, a stark difference from my real, tan skin. There's a slightly red stain on the bottom left of the mask from a time I let blood dry on it. The paint is chipping. I put on the mask and leave the bathroom.

Next I go to the main staffroom. Before I can do anything, a realm member walks into the room. They hand me a folder.

"We need him alive." Is all they say before leaving. 

I set down the folder and start brewing myself a cup of coffee. In the folder is my new work for the next little while. They must be very useful if the realm doesn't want them killed. The realm normally kills their prisoners after they've extracted all the information from them as possible. They probably have a lot of connections. Maybe a big business owner who went rogue, or maybe a member of a rebel party. There's been rumors about a possible rebellion for months. The Realm has started a serious effort to try and catch the rebels while all the citizens secretly pray they aren't successful. 

After I'm done drinking my coffee and eat my sandwich I pick up the abandoned folder. The outside is standard. Nothing special about it. I open it.

Name: Riley Swei  
Cell: 104 AB

Required Information: Information concerning Mr. Swei's older sister, Kelly Swei.

Is all that is in the paper. I nod to myself. This should be simple enough. Basic information like that is always easy to get. The folder also has a copy of the key to the cell. I start to make my way over to block AB. It takes a few minutes because I'm taking my time. I'm tossing the key in the air and catching it when I show up at the door. I'm about to unlock it when I hear a yelp and then a muffled voice.

"Are you kidding me-" It says. They sound exasperated. Not the usual fear I'm used to. I take a moment to chuckle to myself before walking in. I'm surprised to find a young man sitting in the room. He looks to be in his early twenties, around my age. He's chained to the wall, which means he's capable of putting up a fight. This is going to be interesting.

"Riley Swei." I state blandly. It isn't a question.  
"That's me." He mutters. He really doesn't seem to be scared. I take a second to assess his injuries. From what I can see at this distance it looks like his legs are probably broken and he has some head injuries. The Realm has all their employees take a medical course once a year, so I'm able to tell these things with somewhat accuracy. I can tell that he's definitely in a lot of pain. I start to walk towards him but stop in my tracks when he speaks up.

"What's your name?" He asks. I thought I had seen it all, but this is definitely a first. Happy Men are supposed to be anonymous, and I know he knows that. However I decide that it can't hurt to tell him, he's probably not going to remember it anyways.

"Mark Bonaria."


	4. ???

I wake up in my chair, my favourite chair. My brain wants me to remember.

As I grow older with each passing day, my memory slips through my fingers like the grey sand on our beaches. I find it too hard to remember. It’s so cold. It hurts.

When I close my eyes, I can feel the warm sun hitting my face, I can hear the sounds of content adults around me, there is something wet touching my face; it breathes and makes loud noises that do not hurt my ears.

I smile, and then my eyes open.

My room is dreary, the walls are peeling around me, as though they reflect my deteriorating memory. There is a camera in my fruit bowl, I remember when They put it there. Why haven’t I removed it yet?

I stand up and touch the camera, the smell of rotting fruit filling my nostrils, and I back away, head spinning.

Where is my sister?

My mouth is dry, my teeth soft and warn with age; I can barely talk, nothing makes sense anymore.

The chair pulls me back down, wrapping me in it’s worn-down fabric. How long have I been sitting for?

Eyelids slowly closing, and I am brought back to the place.

My sister stands in front of me, she is seventeen, no, eighteen. What colour was her hair again? Her eyes are crystal clear, like the glass that I am holding.

It cuts through the skin on my finger, blood pooling and dripping onto my sunburnt legs. Swirling around and around, red lines intersecting with my veins, I do not cry.

My sister gently wipes my finger, the sun casting a shadow around her face - wait.

Perhaps the sun is playing a trick on me, but my sister’s face has disappeared. Her skin is smooth, like the glass, where did the glass go?

My dog keeps barking, the warmth on my face had turned into a searing heat. My sister grabs my wrists, blood filling my palms.

I open my eyes.

The record player is on, did I turn it on?

I can’t remember, everything hurts.

The song seems to be repeating, the notes hitting my brain and swirling around in a fog.

I just want my sister back, I want my dog.

The music keeps playing, as the windows creak in the wind. I know They’re watching me. Do they enjoy seeing me in this state? Slowly going insane, unable to remember anything before They took over?

My heart is beating quicker with each breath I take, the music is too loud. Tears fall down my face, lodging in the wrinkles along my cheeks, permanent marks on my skin. I scream to empty ears, the eyes on the walls are watching me contently, the wallpaper is peeling; peeling over my eyes.

Then it stops.

The dog stops barking. The music has quieted down. There are no eyes on the walls. The chair is telling me I should sleep.

My eyes close, as the whispers grow silent in my head.

I should sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave a comment if you enjoyed it (or if you didn't) all criticism is welcome.  
> Thank you so much for reading ♡♡♡
> 
> Until next time...


End file.
